At a glance
- On the HUD
- FvO
- Formula
folds / times they faced just an open, nobody had called and they had no chips in voluntarily- Typical range
Not colored on the HUD: it has no typical range, because a good number depends on the game. See “Too low, about right, too high” below.
- Where it shows
- Panel on your turn: when you open, each player’s fold rate. Multiplied together, they make the chance everyone folds.
- Trust it after
- 12 chances. Below that the number is faded; reads need 12 chances and a number at least one standard error outside the typical range.
What it measures
Fold vs open answers the first question behind every open raise: if I raise, does this player let it through? Someone opens, nobody has called, and the player has nothing in the pot by choice. They can fold, call or 3-bet; FvO is the fold.
It covers every seat and every opener. A big blind facing a button open counts, and so does a cutoff facing an early-position open. That makes it broader than fold to steal, which only looks at the blinds facing opens from the cutoff, button or small blind.
It’s also narrower than it looks next to cold call. Cold call includes overcalls behind another caller; fold vs open stops counting the moment anyone has called. So FvO, cold call and 3-bet don’t add up to 100%: they’re counted over different sets of spots.
How it’s calculated
A chance is the player’s first action after the open when they face exactly one raise, nobody has called that raise yet, and they haven’t put chips in voluntarily. A posted blind isn’t voluntary, so blinds are included. It counts if they fold.
- FvO = folds / times they faced just an open, with nobody in and no chips in voluntarily
The open is the first raise of the hand, so a raise over limpers counts for players who haven’t put chips in, as long as nobody has called the raise. The limpers themselves are out; their answer is limp-fold.
FvO is kept by the player’s seat (from the button, from the big blind) and by the opener’s seat (vs an early open, vs a cutoff open), so you can see whether someone defends wider against late opens, as they should.
Example: Ana faced just an open 64 times and folded 51 → 51 / 64 = 80%. Fourteen of those chances came in the big blind, where she folded 6 (43%); in the other 50 she folded 45 (90%). Her 80% overall hides two very different numbers.
Why it matters
Every open is partly a bet that everyone folds. Fold vs open puts a number on it. A 2.5 bb open risks 2.5 to win the 1.5 in the blinds, so it profits on the spot when everyone behind folds more than 2.5 / 4 = 62.5% of the time together. A 3 bb open needs 3 / 4.5 = 66.7%.
Together means multiplied. Open from middle position with four players behind who fold 85%, 80%, 88% and 60%: the chance all of them fold is 0.85 × 0.80 × 0.88 × 0.60 = 35.9%. That’s far below 62.5%, so the open has to make its money after the flop. Four players folding a steady 80% each still only add up to 0.8 × 0.8 × 0.8 × 0.8 = 41%. Each extra player behind you cuts the chance sharply, which is why opening ranges get wider seat by seat.
Multiplying is fair because each player’s FvO is measured only in spots where nobody has called yet, which is exactly what each one faces after everyone before them folds. One sticky player behind you sinks the product, so their number matters most.
Too low, about right, too high
The HUD has no typical range for fold vs open, so it never turns gold or blue and makes no reads. These bands are our rough guide. Judge a blind’s number on its own, because blinds should fold far less than other seats.
Sticky (our band): under 70%
What it says
They play back at more than three opens in ten. If they mostly call, this is a loose, passive player, a Fish, Whale or Station, who wants to see flops. If their 3-bet is high too, it’s an aggressive player, LAG or Maniac, fighting for pots preflop. Either way your opens rarely win uncontested when they’re behind you, and you’ll play many flops against them.
How to exploit it
- Open tighter in front of them. Light opens that hope for folds lose value; hands that make strong top pairs and big draws gain.
- Against the caller, open bigger with value hands. They call 3 bb about as often as 2.5 bb, and the extra goes into a pot you’re ahead in.
- Against the 3-bettor, open hands that can call or 4-bet, and drop the weakest suited gappers and offsuit hands.
- Plan for multiway pots: value-bet more and bluff less once two or more players see the flop.
Typical (our band): 70–88%
What it says
They fold most hands and continue with a sensible range. The useful detail is in the splits. A player who folds more to early opens than to late ones is reading ranges well; one who folds the same to everything is playing their cards, not the situation. From the big blind, a number around half is ordinary; much above that is overfolding.
How to exploit it
A table of typical folders still rarely folds all at once from early seats, as the 41% example shows, so open by position and hand strength, not by hope. Your edges come later in the order: from the cutoff and button only two or three players remain, and their fold rates multiply into something close to your break-even. Watch the panel there. Against players in this band, the more useful exploits are in their 3-bet and cold call numbers and in how they play after calling.
Very tight (our band): over 88%
What it says
They fold almost every open. This is a Nit or Rock who plays premium hands and little else, or a player who stops defending once someone else takes the lead. From the blinds, a number this high means they give up hands that get a good price. Their continuing range is narrow and strong, so they rarely bluff back, and a call from them is worth more respect than a call from most players.
How to exploit it
- Open wider when they sit behind you, especially from the cutoff and button where they may be most of the players left.
- Use a smaller size. A 2 bb open risks 2 to win 1.5 and needs only 2 / 3.5 = 57.1% folds from everyone left.
- Respect them when they continue. Fold the bottom of your range to their 3-bets, and don’t pay off big bets after they call.
- Check whether the tightness holds in the blinds. If their big blind version is high too, steal wide whenever the panel’s chance everyone folds beats your break-even.
When it’s your own number
Fold vs open has no read hint, so it never becomes a read about you. Your number still matters, because it decides how easily the players in front of you can open. If you fold 90% or more, they can raise almost any hand when you’re behind them.
Check yours by seat in the player database. Outside the blinds, folding most hands is right. In the big blind you should continue at least half the time against late opens; if your big blind number is up near your other seats, defend more suited and connected hands. If your overall number is under 70%, you’re probably calling too many opens out of position.
Using it on the HUD
On your turn, when you can open, PokerNow HUD Advanced’s panel lists the other players in the hand with their fold rate, then multiplies them into the chance everyone folds. Most players show fold vs open from their seat. When you’re opening from the cutoff, button or small blind, the blinds show their fold to steal against your seat instead, the sharper number for that spot. If someone limped first, that limper shows limp-fold and limp-raise. Next to every other player’s fold rate, the panel also shows how often that player 3-bets opens from your seat.
The number isn’t colored and makes no reads. Under 12 chances it’s faded, and a thin seat version steps back to the player’s overall number, with the tooltip saying which. Chances come fast, since almost every open a player faces is one. An 80% FvO over 30 chances is ±7.3 points (√(0.8 × 0.2 / 30)); over 100 it’s ±4. A product of four such numbers is shakier than any one, so treat it as a guide. Read it with raise first in, which shows how wide the same players open when it’s folded to them.
Questions
What does fold vs open mean on a poker HUD?
Fold vs open is how often a player folds when they face a single open raise, nobody has called it yet, and they have no chips in by choice. It covers every seat, blinds included, and every opener. It tells you how often your open gets through that player.
How does the HUD work out the chance everyone folds to my open?
It multiplies the fold rates of every player still to act. Players folding 85%, 80%, 88% and 60% make 0.85 × 0.80 × 0.88 × 0.60 = 35.9%. Compare that with your break-even: a 2.5 bb open risks 2.5 to win 1.5, so it needs 62.5% to profit before the flop.
What is the difference between fold vs open and fold to steal?
Fold to steal is a narrow slice: only the small blind or big blind, only against opens from the cutoff, button or small blind with nobody else in. Fold vs open counts every seat against every opener. When you steal, the panel uses the blinds’ fold to steal against your seat because it fits the spot better.
Why doesn’t fold vs open change color on the HUD?
It has no typical range, so there’s nothing to compare it with. A good number depends heavily on the seat: a big blind should fold far less than an early seat. Use the seat version and judge it yourself; as a rough guide, 70–88% is ordinary for a player’s overall number.